Finding Davis
by writingangel13
Summary: Crissy Davis went into the war to be with her brothers, and feel like she did something to help the cause. after making it up the beach, she joins the famous group, but to find 2 soldiers, rather than private Ryan. PLEASE review! i live for them! thanks!


**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**I do not own any Saving Private Ryan character. Only my oc's I make up.**

I did it. I managed to get into the army, even though I was not a man. Though it was not by my witty personality or my ability to shoot that got me in. It was a pure accident. When I came to the army base in Flagstaff, they were doing physicals, which I was worried about for the obvious reasons. But to my amazement I got an old man who could hardly even qualify as a doctor because of his age. I don't remember him looking at me carefully the whole time I was getting my physical. Thankfully he didn't notice my chest either. All he did was look me over, make me do an eye test to see if I was blind, then signed my papers and sent me on my way.

The night before training started I cut my hair with a hunting knife then flushed my long locks down the toilet to make sure no one could find any evidence. At first I was angry, but I soon realized it was much easier to deal with short hair.

I had managed to get through basic training with no one knowing my secret, and now that we were on an actual mission, no one really cared anyway. I still lived in fear of the army finding out, but it's easier than it looks. The army clothes are baggy and it's easy to hide unwanted chest area, and if you can curse, shoot and spit, no one really notices you.

The Americans were in the process of storming Omaha beach. Neither one of my brothers had been stationed with me, which was for the best I guess, but I had no way of knowing if either of them were alive.

My thoughts were interrupted by the soldier next to me throwing up all of his breakfast. I rolled my eyes and took a step back. A lot of the men on my boat were acting more like girls than I was.

"Good luck!" yelled our boatmen.

The door fell and the front men were rittled with machine gun fire. I caught one man and used him as a shield. It was lucky I was stronger than most 17 year old girls; otherwise the man's weight might have crushed me. Other soldiers saw me and copied me, but for some reason none of them executed it as well as I did.

I felt my feet leave the deck of the boat and hit something squishy. I glanced down to see a man with a bullet hole through is face. Had I seen this 6 months ago, I might have puked, but now it didn't really bother me. I stepped over him still holding my human shield. I felt a volley of bullets hit him, but none passed through, so I kept running. I was one of the first people to reach a low sad dune without getting shot. I dove behind it followed closely by another man who dove in next to me. I must have looked terrified because he asked, "You alright soldier?"

"Fine!" I yelled as a shell exploded behind us.

"Caparzo!" someone yelled.

The man next to me glanced around and then to me. He smiled and gestured with a nod toward the person yelling.

"Oh sure, why not. I have nothing better to do," I sighed sarcastically.

Caparzo pointed to the place he was headed.

"Stay close," I cautioned and darted around the hill holding up the body.

My arms were starting to shake, but I wouldn't let go of my shield. Now not only my life, but also the life of Caparzo would be compromised. I suddenly cried out as a stray bullet pierced my right shoulder and my grip on back of the soldier gave.

"Leave him!" yelled Caparzo as I dropped the body.

I ran with him dogging bullets and shrapnel, until we reached an unlucky soldier and a medic. I slid to a stop next to him. The medic was a sitting duck out in the open.

"Go!" I yelled to Caparzo as I dropped to my hands and knees next to the doctor. "Hey doc, I don't think this is the best time to be working on this guy!"

"I'm close to saving him!" the doctor yelled.

I glanced up at the machine gun tower and saw the head of a gun turning toward us. I dove on the medic and pushed him to the side just in time to miss getting blown to bits. Unfortunately, the soldier the doc was working on had more holes in him than a pincushion.

"Damn it!" the medic shouted.

"Come on!" I yelled pulling him up.

He let out a string of cuss words but followed me. We managed to make it under the machine gun encampment so we were safe for the moment. I glanced at the man who had called for Caparzo and noticed his helmet bore the emblem that only captains wore. He looked me over quickly then said, "What's your name private?"

"Davis," I said breathlessly. "Pvt. Cris Davis."

"Well Pvt. Davis, how fast can you run?"

"Fast sir," I said. "I could outrun any man in basic." I didn't tell him I had been the girls 500 champion at my high school.

"This is nothing like Basic, Private," he warned.

"I can do it, sir," I said as a shell exploded sending a soldier flying across the battle field.

"Ok. I'm going to need you to cover Jackson here," he said patting the shoulder of the soldier next to him.

I looked him over to see how fast he might be and noticed the sniper rifle in hi hands.

"I tried to be a sniper," I said as someone from the machine gun encampment unloaded a round in a man who had tripped over his own feet.

"Yah?" Jackson said not looking at me. "What stopped you?"

"My hand wasn't ever steady enough," I answered.

He scoffed lightly as he checked his gun.

"Alright on my mark!" yelled the Captain holding up his hand.

He paused for a few seconds, and then yelled, "Cover fire… Jackson, Davis, GO!"

I shot out in front of Jackson, using myself as a shield. I knew that his life was much more important than mine since I couldn't use a sniper. I felt hot led rip through my calf and embed itself in my muscle, and I tripped, but Jackson was right behind me. He pulled me up and half drug me to the hill we would be hiding behind.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, you?" I answered.

He nodded then said, "Cover fire!"

I immediately sat up and sent a volley of bullets toward the Germans. I heard the unmistakable crash of the sniper shot and saw a German fall from his post; his neck spouting blood. I came back down behind the hill where Jackson was crouched. He was in the middle of saying the Lord's Prayer.

"Cover fire," he said to me. We continued like this until Jackson targeted the parapet of sandbags. This cleared all the Germans out so that the captain could send the rest of his men up.

"Nice shooting, Tex!" commented one of the guys in a harsh Brooklyn accent. Then he looked at me. "You too," he said smiling like he knew something no one else did.

My heart raced as I realized he might know my secret. He discreetly winked at me as the captain yelled, "Reiben, Davis, move it!" Reiben put his hand out and said, "You heard him soldier."

Reiben and I ran through bodies and sandbags making our way up the hill when Reiben suddenly dove at me yelling, "Watch out!"

I didn't see the danger, but before I had time to think about it, I was sprawled out on the dirt with Reiben on top of me. His quick thinking had saved my life. A shell exploded 5 feet from us; right where I had been standing 3 seconds before. As dirt cascaded around us, I could feel Reiben's heavy breathing against my cheek. In a second he uncovered my faced and looked at me.

"Are you ok?" he asked

I nodded and shoved him off me angrily. If he didn't know my secret before, he sure as hell knew now. We finally managed to get to the Captain who had an annoyed look on his face. Our group had already cleaned out the machine gunners with grenades and a flamethrower. Most of the trenches were ours now and we had about 50 POWs.

The Americans had made it up Omaha Beach. I smiled at the thought then looked out over the beach. The ocean had a red tint to it, and the bodies were so thick on the shore, that you couldn't even see the sand in some places. I sighed and looked around at the men who were alive. Some were sitting with their head in their hands, some pacing. Others were on their knees praying and rocking back and forth, but almost all of them were crying uncontrollably.

I didn't know why I wasn't crying, but I dismissed it to the fact that the amount of adrenalin running through me would fuel a small power plant for at least six months. As I followed the Captain and Reiben, I started to limp because of the bullet that was still in my calf. That's when I realized it wasn't the adrenalin stopping me from crying.

I glanced at the sad eyes of the POWs being led in a line like animals to the slaughter. Of course I knew Americans didn't kill prisoners of war, but that must have been what it felt like for them. As we were walking past the line, I got to close and one of them grabbed me by the collar. He was yelling in German, but I understood every word.

"You aren't going to be harmed!" I promised as he shook me.

Reiben and the Captain were on us at once, the Captain prying the man's hand's off and Reiben pulling me backward. However they were not fast enough. All the chaos caused my helmet to come off, which stopped everything. The German instantly let go of me like I had a contagious disease. So did the Captain and Reiben. Everyone was staring at me like I was an alien. I glanced around not realizing what had happened until I saw my helmet on the ground. I looked at my shoulders and saw my shoulder length blond hair cascading around me. It had grown to an annoying length and I hadn't had time to cut it.

"Take her to Wade, Reiben," said the Captain breaking the silence. "I have some business to see to."

"Wait Captain!" I yelled turning and almost hitting Reiben in the face with my elbow. "Please don't tell anyone about this," I begged wrapping my hair up on top of my head and stuffing my helmet on.

He smiled knowingly.

"I just have to take care of some POWs. Go see Wade. He will get that bullet out of your arm. And leg," he added glancing at my blood stained kakis.

I nodded and turned back to Reiben who was smirking. When I started walking, however, the smirk disappeared.

"Your leg is really hurt bad," he said making a move like he was going to carry me.

"Reiben, if you pick me up, I swear to god, I will shoot you were you stand," I said glaring at him.

He smiled, but I could tell he really wanted to carry me. I put my arm around his shoulders and he settled for that. After almost 20 minutes of hobbling around looking for this Wade person, we found him sitting among a group of loud and obnoxious men. He was the first one who noticed us coming, and he jumped up grabbing another guy I recognized as Jackson, the sharpshooter.

"Hey Wade," said Reiben. "I've got a feisty one for you today."

I glared at him realizing right then that that was going to be my nickname forever. Jackson got under my other arm and helped me back to the medic. I quickly recognized Wade as the medic I had saved from getting blown up on the beach. He remembered me too.

"Hey. You made it," he said sounding genuinely happy.

"You did too," I said matching his level of joy.

He smiled and went to work looking me over while the other men in the circle showed the same genuine concern for my well being.

"Looks like you got hit on the head," said Wade starting to push my helmet back.

I pulled away quickly and glanced up at Reiben. He nodded as he stepped between me and the closest group of men milling around. I looked at the four men, begging them with my eyes not to be too excited or loud. I sighed, pulled my helmet off and shook my hair out. I glanced down at the disgusting strands that hung is greasy pieces. It had been almost 3 months since I had gotten it properly washed.

I rolled my eyes at their mystified looks, but soon became uncomfortable with their staring. Reiben could see it and said, "Hey doc, you think you can get on with the check up?"

Wade blinked a few times and nodded. He gently moved a strand of my hair to check the bruise on my forehead.

"How do I look?" I asked letting my voice return to its normal octave for the first time since basic.

That also might have been a mistake, though, because it shocked them into silence again.

"Um… not as bad as you could be I mean…" but Wade was interrupted by the Captain.

"Boys… and girl… we have a mission. And a new translator."

I glanced at the boy with Captain in disbelief. He looked like he was hardly older than me, and much less of a soldier. The way he was hugging his gun to his chest made it look like he had never fired it in his life.  
"But sir," I piped up. "If I'm going with you, why can't I just translate? My French and German are excellent."

The Captain just glared at me.

"Sorry sir," I said looking away from him. I wasn't about to argue with my new commanding officer, even if I thought he was completely insane.

"Everyone this is Timothy Upham." He waited. "Well introduce yourselves."

No one moved to go first but with a hard look from the Captain, Reiben finally gave in.

"Private Richard Reiben, B.A.R gunner," he said with little to no emotion in his voice.

"Private Crissy… Ouch!" I yelped as Wade stitched up a large gash on my wrist."… Davis. B.A.R gunner."

"Private Daniel Jackson, sharpshooter," he said glancing up and acknowledging Upham with a nod.

"Private Charlie Mellish, Rifleman," he said with exactly the same emotion as Reiben.

"I'm Private Adrian Caparzo, Rifleman," he said. I was surprised to see him actually smiling.

"Irwin Wade, Medic," said Wade who was in the process of getting the bullet out of my calf.

"And I am Captain John Miller. Welcome to the team Upham. Now everyone except Davis and Wade, go get water and you gear. We are leaving as soon as Wade is finished."

All the men grumbled but left us to get their gear. Wade continued to work on my leg in silence. The stab of morphine in my arm was the signal he was finished. He looked up at me and asked, "Any other major injuries?"  
"My shoulder," I said carefully lifting my now throbbing arm.

Wade searched the blood soaked cloth for the wound.

"Take you jacket off," he instructed as he turned and started going through is medical bag.

I carefully pulled my jacket off, wincing a little as the caked blood tore away from the wound. Wade turned back to me and helped me ease it off to reveal an almost completely red shirt. This was disheartening for Wade because the shirts were normally green. Wade's eyes widened, apparently out of fear.  
"You lost a lot of blood," he said working quickly.

"How much?" I asked watching him pull a pair of the longest tweezers I had ever seen out of his bag.

He looked up at me, his eyes hard.  
"I'm surprised you even made it up the beach…" he said ominously.

I gulped as he got up and went behind me.

"There's an exit wound," he said with a sigh of relief. "This is going to be a lot less painful than you're leg."

I nodded trying to concentrate on something other than the thick needle and thread Wade was getting out of his bag.

*********

"Wade, are we ready?" asked the Captain when he and the rest of the men came back over to us 10 minutes later.

"Yes sir, as long as we move slowly. She has lost a lot of blood."

The Captain nodded as the other men came over. When they got close enough to see than I no longer had my jacket on however, they stopped walking. Caparzo's mouth even fell open slightly. Everyone but Capt. Miller. He looked at me like I had the same appearance as everyone else in the squad. I watched all their eyes knowing exactly what they were thinking, and I felt the uncomfortable heat inch up into my face causing my cheeks to flush. Wade must have seen all their looks and my reaction, because he stepped between their gazes and me. He helped me up and winked.

"Let's move out!" said Miller.

To the great dislike of Wade, I insisted on carrying all of my own gear. According to him, if I had lost one more pint of blood I would have died and this was not his idea of taking it slowly. Miller made him feel better though when he gave formation orders.

"Reiben, you take point. Jackson, left flank. Mellish, right flank and Caparzo, bring up the rear. Wade, Davis and Upham, stay in the middle."

I could tell Reiben didn't like being that far away from me. He was quickly turning into a protective big brother I already had two of.

"So what's this mission we are going on Captain?" Reiben asked.

"We are going to rescue two soldiers. John and Ryan Davis. Any relation private?" he asked me, but I wasn't paying attention. I had frozen on the spot when I heard my brother's names.

"Private?" he asked again, turning around.

I forced myself back to reality and said, "Yes sir. They are my brothers." Miller nodded as Jackson asked, "When was the last time you saw them?"

"Two years ago…" I said looking at the ground. Then added, "and Caparzo, if you keep staring at my ass, I'm going to put another hole in yours."

"How did you do that?" he asked surprise evident in his voice.

"She's a woman, man," said Mellish smiling.

"Yeah I have two sisters and a mother who can do the same thing," said Jackson who's voice had taken on a dreamy tone.

"So let me get this straight," said Reiben staying fixed on his topic. "All 8 of us are risking our lives to find two guys who might or might not be alive?"

I stiffened at his words, but remained silent.

The others all sighed, marveling at the private's inability to shut up.

"Reiben!" said Wade horrified he would ever say those words.

"What?" asked Reiben glancing around until he saw my face. "Oh," he said. "Sorry Crissy but do you see the sense in it? Sending 8 guys to save two?"

The rest of the men glared at him, but I sighed knowing he was right. "No Reiben. I don't."

I fell into silence for the next few miles after that. I used the time to study the squad. I took in their appearances and their mannerisms. These seven men had been through hell not five hours before and here they were joking and smiling. These men were brothers, for the rest of their lives these men were brothers, and I was happy to be counted as their sister.

That night we bunked down in a small abandon village. We found the biggest hut and made a small fire while the Captain went out to take first watch. I hobbled in and flopped down next to Caparzo who smirked at me. I shot him a glare and began massaging my ankle.

"What is it?" asked Wade, his doctor's side taking over immediately.

I waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. I just stepped in a hole or something."

Wade knelt in front of me and gently moved my ankle in a small circle. I winced in spite of myself. Wade looked up at me, a worried expression etched in his young futures. Reiben was just coming in followed by Mellish.

"Hey did you see any real beds?" asked Wade

I immediately knew what he was doing, but I wasn't going to have it.

"Oh no, Wade. I'm sleeping in here like everyone else!"

He turned to me with a pleading face.  
"I'm the doctor!" he jokingly angry. "You should listen to me!"

I rolled my eyes and said, "I'll tell you what. I'll fight you. If I win, I get to sleep were I choose, and if you win, I'll sleep where you choose." As I said this a chorus of hoots and cat calls arose from the squad. "Shut up," I said glaring around the small fire. They didn't.

Reiben was laughing so hard he started to cry. It was an odd thing to see the tough guy from Brooklyn crying, even if it was just in fun. "I think Wade is right," he said becoming suddenly serious.

"What?!" I said staring open mouthed at him. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean-"

"It has nothing to do with you being a woman," he said cutting me off sharply. "I just think it's for the best if you got a good night sleep tonight. That's all."

I looked around at all of them, but all their faces were the same. "Fine," I mumbled hardly able to stand without someone there to lean against. Wade wrapped his arm around my waist and led me outside and to a tent on the other side of the village.

"Why are we going so far away from the others?" I asked.

"I saw an actual bed in this tent when we were coming in," he said simply.

When we got there, sure enough there was a bed. It was small and it tilted on one side, but it looked a lot more inviting that the furs the rest of the squad was sleeping on. Wade helped me sit down and then got to work cleaning and re-bandaging my numerous wounds. When he was finished he sat down next to me. I glanced up at him and for the first time since I met him I felt like I was looking at him properly.

I suddenly realized something I hadn't until that moment. I was attracted to him. Even when he turned away from me, I couldn't stop staring at him. I cursed myself. What the hell was wrong with me? What the hell were these feelings I was getting? I was 17 and a private in the army. I shouldn't be having these feelings for one of my fellow soldiers. I didn't know what it was, but I knew something about that medic was making me crazy. He smiled sending waves of dizziness through me.

Wade wasn't particularly handsome, not like Reiben, Caparzo, or even the Captain, but there was definitely something about him. His skin was very pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept for a long time. His eyes were beautiful, though. Dark brown, almost black, with long eyelashes, and they were so deep. He was younger than any of the guys, but his eyes were wise beyond his years. He had high cheekbones and sharp futures that contrasted oddly with the olive army drab they had us in.

Thinking he was no longer needed he got up to leave, but I grabbed his arm.

"Wade, Wait. I feel guilty about you having to sleep on the floor and me getting to sleep in a real bed," I said making my eyes look as much like a puppy dog as I could.

"Don't worry about it." He gave me another half smile making my heart leap out of my chest.

"Wade…" I said but didn't finish my sentence.

He looked confused. "Do you want me to stay here?" he asked, concerned. I tried to push the thoughts of sleeping in the same bed as him out of my head but failed miserably. I nodded to his question.

"If you're sure," he said this time his smile slightly more devilish. He sat on the bed next to me again. My whole body was on fire, and I couldn't even speak for fear of saying something stupid.

Wade was looking at me curiously. "Are you alright?" he asked turning my face with one of his long fingers. I wasn't sure what happened next, but Wade must have seen the desire in my eyes because he moved closer and before I knew it, his lips were on mine. He kissed me gently at first. He seemed like he was afraid of breaking me, but his hands were on the bed, leaving me the opportunity to pull away. When I made no attempt to escape, he moved a hand to my neck pulling me closer to him while my hands rested on his arm and cheek. As I kissed him, I felt all the negative things in the past two days melt away. The ocean dyed crimson and all the bodies…For me reality seemed to slip away like sand through an hour glass, and all that mattered was his lips responding to mine and visa versa.

After a minute we broke off, resting our foreheads against one another, my hand still on his cheek.

"We shouldn't…" I whispered, but let my unfinished sentence trail off.

"Why not?" Wade asked as he gently kissed me on the lips and slowly moved up my cheekbone. I stayed in his hold savoring his presence before whispering against his lips, "I don't want to do this here in the middle of a war."

"What if we never get the chance after tonight?" he whispered.

I looked into his tired eyes as a tear escaped mine.

"You only want this because I'm the only women for 500 miles," I scoffed.

Wade looked at me, fierce conviction in his dark eyes. "No," he said. "I would pick you out of a million women."

I smiled gently and nodded against him, another tear escaping my eye and running down my cheek.

"Me too," I said my voice to choked with emotion to say much else.

Things went on like normal after that, but I never doubted that Wade loved me. Every time he looked at me, I saw it in his eyes, and I'm sure he saw it in mine. After that I was also sick with fear about many things but most of all, loosing him. Wade didn't know my exact worries, but he squeezed my hand when the others weren't looking and that made everything all right again.

For once in my life my world was whole but everything good is limited, and my days in this fairy tail were numbered.

*********

It had been 3 days since Wade and I had spent the night together, (doing nothing but laying in each others arms) and we were pretty sure we had been discreet about our relationship, but it turned out we weren't as discreet as we had hoped. All day Reiben had been giving me one of those looks like he knew something more than he was telling anyone, especially whenever I was near Wade. Now was one of those times, but for some reason he decided to change the subject.

"Hey Davis, can you sing?" asked Reiben interrupting the silence.

"Why?" I asked surprised.

"Cause I'm tired of hearing Mellish try to belt out the Star Spangled Banner," Reiben said laughing. Mellish even laughed.

"He's right. I'm even tired of hearing myself sing," he said playfully smacking Reiben in the shoulder.

"Get back in formation, Mellish," said Miller glancing back at us.

"Yes sir," said Mellish slowing to take his place behind me. "So what do you say Davis?"

I glanced at Wade who was walking quietly by my side. He looked at me thoughtfully and nodded. I sighed and began singing the only hymn I knew. I could tell Jackson knew the song as soon as I started the first line.

"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart." I sang quietly at first, glancing self-consciously around at my comrades. "Naught be all else to me save that thou art" Then Jackson picked up. "Thou my best thought by day or by night" I smiled at his rich voice as we continued together, "Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light." Jackson and I continued the song. On the 2nd verse we were joined by Caparzo's scratchy tenor voice, and by verse 3 we had all the squad members, save the captain, singing or at least humming along with us.

When the song was over we walked in silence, comfortable with each others presence. Wade had even not-to-discreetly slipped his hand into mine. Although everything seemed peaceful, I could tell otherwise.

Each member of my squad had a unique way of revealing themselves to me without saying a word except Upham. He always voiced his concerns so I never got the chance to see what he looked like when he wasn't speaking. They may have all looked the same on their Olive outfits, but I could I could tell how different they were just by looking at the backs of their heads. If someone coughed I knew who it was, which is why my squad could never get anything by me.

For example, at that moment I could tell that Reiben was very nervous. I could tell under all that smart ass attitude, and Brooklyn rough and tough way, he was scared to death. I could tell by the way the veins showed on his hands as he clutched his B.A.R. I smiled to myself. "_So Reiben is human after all,_ " I thought.

We entered a large pasture with a farmhouse on one side just as the sun dipped behind the far hill. I thought back to when someone probably lived in that farmhouse. _Was it a family with children?_ I asked myself. _Did they have cows? Horses? Anything normal?_ _What where their names?_

"Damn," I said too quietly for anyone to hear. This war had taken so much. That fact was disturbing me for the first time right then. But suddenly my reflections were interrupted. That was when I saw it before everyone but Jackson. He glanced sideways at me and we both dove forward, me latching onto Reiben's collar and Jackson onto Upham' s. Jackson yelled, "Captain!"

Miller turned around hearing the fear in Jackson' s voice just as we all heard the high pitched screech of artillery shells.

"Scatter!" Miller yelled, but we were way ahead of him.

I shoved Reiben forward willing him to go faster. Just as we hit our full speed a shell exploded right behind me making me fly forward land face first in the mud. Upham and Jackson disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"Davis!" Came Jackson's voice from somewhere to my left.

"I'm fine!" I yelled back searching for him through the thick cloud of dirt and smoke.

I felt him latch onto my hand and pull me up. Just as he did a familiar voice filled the air.

"Jackson? Davis?!"

"Over here, Reiben!" Jackson yelled back.

The private ran up to us, relief flashing through his hazel eyes. His face was smeared with dirt and his left sleeve was ripped off with a large gash across his shoulder.

"Where's the Cap'n?" Jackson shouted over the shells.

"I don't know!" yelled Reiben as the screech sounded above our heads once again.

All three of us ran knowing they would be more accurate this time. As we ran, I reached down and hauled a scared Upham to his feet, but the shell hit right behind me; right where Upham had tripped. Reiben, Jackson and I landed on our faces again, but Upham was now little pieces scattered across the field. I shook my head sorry for the soldier, but there would be time to morn later. Jackson and I jumped up but Reiben looked hurt. When I realized he wasn't running with us I turned and bolted back to him.

"Come on, Reiben!!" I shouted as another shell sounded above. I wasn't loosing another person on this field.

I grabbed his hand and heaved him to his feet. Together we ran the remaining stretch of field to the tree line. There we found the rest of our squad; All but Wade.

"Where's the doc?" asked Caparzo when we came.

"He's not with you?" asked Reiben.

Caparzo shook his head and immediately all eyes went to me. They were waiting to see whether I would run out onto the battle field to find him. I glared around at them.

"What?" I snapped. I wasn't an idiot, and Wade was trained for this. '_He was fine_,' I thought as the vision of Upham just before he got blow to pieces entered my head.

At that moment Miller came through the trees and said, "Jackson I have a clear line of sight to those bombers."

Jackson nodded and we followed him and the Captain through the trees. I glanced around the field whenever one of the shells exploded to try to catch sight of Wade's blond hair, but I began to feel like I would never see him again until Jackson yelled, "I see Wade! He's up by the bombers!"

"What's he doing up their? Have they seen him? Is he ok?" I asked in such a flurry that no one could understand any of the individual questions.

They all gave me funny looks, but Jackson looked back through his scope then said, "He's throwing grenades at them! He just blew up their bomber!"

"That's the doc I know and love!" Reiben whooped.

"Lets get up there!" yelled Miller.

"Wait!" yelled Jackson. "They still have machine guns!"

"Then give us some cover!" said Miller as he jumped over a log and onto the field with us close on his tail.

Jackson's sniper cracked four times before we reached Wade's position. Miller turned and motioned Jackson to come up with us as we unloaded round after round on the Germans.

"They are like damn cockroaches!" shouted Reiben as he tossed a grenade into their nest only to have three more tossed at us.

Then all of a sudden there was a tremendous explosion that was to big to come from anything we had. It shook the ground so hard the tree Caparzo and Mellish were hiding behind fell over. They jumped out from under it before it crushed them and Caparzo landed in the trench with Reiben and I.

As the smoke cleared I heard one last volley of machine gun fire and a scream. A second later I heard the unmistakable crack of Jackson's sniper.

"Who's hit?" I heard Miller yell from across the field. No one spoke for a few seconds then Jackson yelled, "It's Wade! Cap'n Wade's been hit!"

My blood ran cold as the name of the person shot hit me.

"No one move!" came Miller's voice over the blood stained field. "We haven't gotten all of them yet!"

"What about Wade?!" I shouted franticly.

"Davis stay where you are!" yelled Miller. "That's an order!" But I wasn't going to let Wade die.

"Davis no!" shouted Reiben lurching forward to grab my arm.

I danced away from him and ran out onto the field toward the moaning I knew was Wade.

"DAVIS GET DOWN" Miller bellowed angrily, but I wasn't listening.

I only had eyes for Wade. I heard an unrecognizable sniper shot as I felt a bullet hit the ground next to my feet. I pushed my body, willing my legs to move faster.

"Davis get down! I don't have a shot!" yelled a frustrated Jackson.

As he said this, I felt the bullet of the German sniper rip through my right forearm about halfway between my hand and elbow. I stumbled but kept going only to be knocked flat on my face by Reiben. He picked me up by my left arm and drug me backwards behind a patch of bushes.

"What where you thinking?!" he asked furiously.

"Wade! We have to help him!" I screamed struggling.

"Reiben, hold her until Jackson can get a shot!" Miller yelled.

Hearing this I struggled harder but I was nothing against Reiben's iron muscles.

"Yes sir!" Reiben shouted back as he wrapped a long arm around my neck and under one arm.

Fortunately I didn't have to wait long because Jackson quickly took his shot, expertly hitting the sniper between his eyes. I shoved Reiben off of me and ran to Wade. I got their first with Jackson in toe.

Jackson ripped Wade's shirt open to revile 3 bullet wounds scattered across his chest and stomach. The world blurred before my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks. I knew nothing about medicine so I stayed out of the way. I watched them try to save I'm but somehow I knew he wasn't going to be long for this world. I tried my best to keep Wade calm and to keep his mind off of what was going on.

"Wade," I said gently stroking his' sweaty face,

He looked right at me with pleading eyes which made me cry harder.

"Do you remember what we were talking about last night?"

He nodded, his breathing getting labored.

"After the war," he said his voice full of pain and uncharacteristic fear. I nodded stroking his cheek.

It was incredibly unnerving for me to see such a strong man bleeding to death on some no name field in the middle of the Second World War.

"Yeah. After the war we were going to get married, remember? In that little church outside of Boston?" He nodded smiling.

"I… remember" he said through gasps.

My bottom lip quivered while I continued.

"Then we were going to find a house and have a little girl named…,"

"Carrie Anne," he finished. "And we were going to be a…" but he was interrupted by a fit of coughing that left him spitting out blood.

"Hang in there," whispered Reiben who was working feverishly on getting the 2nd bullet out.

I glanced up at him looking for reassurance, but I was afraid of the fear in his eyes. I looked back to the dying medic, which didn't actually ease the panic rising in me. Wade suddenly grabbed my collar and pulled me down closer to me.

"I love you," he said searching my face with terrified eyes. "Crissy, you need to know I love you."

"I know, Wade. I do," I said desperately trying to keep the tears at bay.

He reached up and stroked my cheek with a trembling hand.

"Kiss me," he whispered.

I leaned down and placed my lips softly against his, right there in front of the whole squad. They made no noise as Wade enjoyed his last few moments. We broke off and I whispered, "I love you too." he smiled and placed a heartbreakingly tender kiss on my forehead, then his hand dropped from my cheek.

I looked into his beautiful eyes which were now missing the sparkle I was so used to seeing there. I held his lifeless body for a few seconds crying into his shoulder, but eventually I gently put him down. I looked around at my comrades who all had their faces downcast. Reiben, who's hands, arms and shirt were covered in blood looked like he might be sick. Caparzo and Mellish were sitting back on their heels, stunned. The Captain was standing staring hard faced at the scene in front of him, and Jackson had tears running down his cheeks.

I took a breath and looked up to the nest were the German machine gunners had been. But then I saw something that stunned me, and then pissed me off.

I sprinted up the hill to the German ho was still alive. I caught him by the back of the shirt and shoved him down making him smash his face into the butt of his own gun.

"Did you kill Wade?!" I shouted in German.

He was yelling back at me panicked, but he wasn't speaking in German or French so I couldn't understand him.

I was blinded by tears of rage as I smashed my rifle into his jaw making him cry out and flail his arms in front of his face. Reiben and Jackson appeared on my left and right, both with their pistols out pointed right between the German's eyes.

"Did you kill Wade?!" I yelled again, as I also pointed my pistol at his face.

I looked at him and saw the same terrified expression on his face as I had seen on Wade's and that made me furious. '_This man is nothing like Wade_!' I yelled in my mind firmly forcing myself to believe it.

"Please," the German pleaded in broken English. "I'm sorry. Please forgive."

"Oh so now you can speak English?" said Reiben mockingly.

"Give me a chance."

"Did you give Wade a chance?!" I screamed tears running uncontrollably down my face.

I pushed the muzzle of my pistol against the man's temple.

"I surrender!" he screamed squeezing his eyes shut.

"Davis!" Miller shouted coming slowly up the hill behind us.

Reiben and Jackson turned but I never took my eyes, or pistol, off the German.

"He surrendered," said Miller quietly.

I whirled around to face him, horror stricken.

"Are you crazy?!" I shouted." He was manning the machine gun! He killed WADE!"

I could see Miller struggling with his decision.

"He surrendered but we can't take him with us," said Miller.

I thought I was going to get to shoot the German, but Miller wasn't finished.

He took his bandana and tied it around the German's eyes and then said to me, "Tell him to walk 100 paces in the direction we came and tell him to turn himself into the first American patrol he come across."

I stared at Miller in shock, but reused to tell the man anything. When I didn't move, the Captain's expression turned glacial as he turned to the German and asked if he understood. He nodded quickly and Miller pushed him down the trail to get him started. I would have shot them the German and Miller had it not been for Reiben's hand on my arm. We all knew what came next.

As we all walked back down the hill to bury Wade, fresh tears sprang to my eyes. Jackson happened to be walking next to me and slowly put and awkward hand on my shoulder, which reminded me of my bloody gunshot wound, which in turn reminded me that we now had no medic to fix it, which made the tears come faster.

Miller caught a glimpse of my arm and made me sit by and watch as Mellish, Caparzo and Reiben dug the hole and put Wade's body in it. Jackson was sitting with me wrapping my wounded arm.

If I closed my eyes I could almost imagine it was Wade's hands who were occasionally brushing my skin as he wrapped my wound.

Jackson was by far one of the most quiet and soft spoken men in the squad, (now that Wade was gone) but I could sense him trying to figure out something to say. Something that would make me feel better, and eventually he spoke up, although it made me feel worse, but I was grateful he tried.

"We are considered heroes, you know," he said as he finished with the bandage around my arm.

"Maybe that's it," I said after a pause.

"What's it?" he asked confused.

"Maybe heroes aren't supposed to be happy," I said as I watched Wade's limp hand disappear into the dark hole.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked following my gaze to the grave.

"Maybe heroes aren't supposed to be happy because it would take away from being the hero. It would distract us."

Jackson understood what I was getting at.

"You didn't kill Wade," he said glancing in my direction.

"But maybe he would still be live if I wouldn't have let my feelings get in the way. Maybe that's why women aren't allowed on the battle field."

"Wade would have died either way," said Reiben quietly as he reached down into the grave. "But this way, he enjoyed his last minutes alive instead of being deathly afraid."

Reiben came over to me and Jackson and pushed a cold object onto my hand. He looked at me hard and said, "Wade wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

I let the tears fall unchecked from my eyes as I stared up at Reiben. He helped me up as Miller quietly said, "Let's move out."

We got back into formation silently, but it was strange being in the middle alone. For so long I had Wade and even Upham, but they were both gone now, and I decided to be part of the formation, rather than something they were protecting. I slid to the left a little and flanked Jackson hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately they all noticed, but luckily they said nothing. I glanced down into my hand and saw the thing Reiben had given me before we left. I looked Wade's dog tag over. It read,_ T-5 Medic, Irwin Wade, Boston, Massachusetts. _I kissed it then stowed it in one of my many pockets.

We were just cresting the top of a hill as it was getting dark. There was a small run down town in the valley below, which is where Miller decided to bunk for the night. We made our way to the town, always on the alert. I glanced up at Jackson who was scanning the tallest towers of the town for snipers. I knew I should be watching too, but I was still reeling from Wade's death, and wanted nothing more than to get a good night's sleep.

_A good nights sleep_, I thought. Wade had said that to me the first night I realized I loved him. A small tear trickled down me cheek, but I wiped it away before anyone noticed.

We walked into town always checking for the Germans. When Miller was satisfied there was no enemy around, we were free to find a suitable place to set up camp. I wasn't in the mood to go tromping all over this god forsaken place so I sat in the middle of town while everyone else went off in different directions. All except Reiben. He stayed close to me, never trying to start a conversation, just watching.

"I'm fine, Reiben," I said staring down at the cobblestone.

"I never said you weren't," said Reiben pretending to clean his B.A.R.

I rolled my eyes. "Listen Reiben, I-" but I never got to finish my sentence.

"Hey! Everyone get over here!" it was Caparzo's voice echoing through the streets frantically.

Reiben and I hurried to where the Private was. He was kneeling down over some dead Americans by the foot of some stairs.

"What is it Caparzo?" asked Miller.

He paused and looked at me before speaking. "I think our mission is over, sir."

His words chilled my bones. I knelt next to him and didn't even need to look at the dog tags to know it was my brother. The corps was nothing but bones, but there was a ring from Flagstone Community College on his index finger. He never took that ring off. I fell back on my heels, tears streaming once again.

I reached back and latched onto the first thing I touched, which just happened to be Jackson. He pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. I cried harder than I have ever cried before in those four minutes the Captain gave us to rest. Before we could leave however, we heard a single shot go off.

"Down!" yelled Reiben.

We all ducked behind cars and walls trying to see where the shot had come from, but before we saw where the shooter was, we saw the target. Miller was laying face down in a puddle, blood pouring out of a bullet wound to his head. The five of us were temporarily to surprised speak, but Reiben quickly recovered and fell into the role of Captain.

"We are leaving! Now!" he yelled darting our from behind the wall and going to our deceased captain.

He quickly got Miller's dog tag and followed the rest of us out of the town; the sound of sniper shots echoing behind us.

We only traveled a few miles that day then we bunked down in a half destroyed school building. No one spoke out of respect for our fallen comrades. Reiben didn't even make any smart-ass remarks. After about an hour of this I got up.

"I'll take first watch," I announced as I walked toward the door. As I went past Caparzo I stopped and looked at him. The smoke trailed lightly from his cigarette to my nose.

"What?" he asked glancing up at me.

Without saying a word I snatched his cigarette and took a long drag, then blew out. I stuck the cigarette back in his open mouth and walked outside. I heard them talking as soon as I was gone.

"I don't think I have ever seen her smoke. Ever," said Jackson.

*********

Later that night when I was sure everyone was asleep I quietly got up, got my gear and pulled out the note I had written earlier. I laid it on the place I had been asleep, then stepped over Jackson's long legs and Reiben's head, and got to the door. I turned around one more time and looked over my sleeping 'family.'

"I'm sorry," I whispered then turned and walked out into the cold rain.

*********

The squad awoke the next morning to Reiben's obnoxious screaming and cursing.

"That stupid, inconsiderate, useless excuse for a soldier!" he yelled followed by a string of curse words.  
"What is it?" asked Mellish annoyed he had been awoken so early.

"She's gone!" yelled Reiben not lowering his volume at all.

"Reiben, shut up! Do you want the entire German army to hear you?" said Caparzo rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Who's gone?" asked Jackson glancing around taking a headcount.

"Who do you thing? Davis! She left a damn note!" Reiben said shoving a paper toward Jackson.

He took it, read it once, then read it allowed.

"_I know that if you are reading this, I am long gone. Please don't follow me. I can't watch anyone else die trying to find my brother. This is my problem. Just go back to the beach and I'll bring Ryan there when I find him. I know how hard it must be for you all, (especially Reiben considering he is in command now) to just forget about the mission and go back to the beach, but I'm begging you, please. If this mission goes south and Ryan is dead when I get there, I need to have some brothers to come back to. We already lost Wade, Upham and the Caption on this stupid mission and I don't want to loose anyone else. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye._

_All my love,_

_Crissy_

They sat in silence for a while until the squad turned their eyes in unison on the new 22-year-old Captain. They stared at Reiben awaiting orders. He sighed already feeling the weight of all their lives on his shoulders. He glanced up at them then said, "As far as I am concerned, our mission is over. Both Davis brothers are dead, but Crissy is out there somewhere. That's our mission now. We are going to find Davis."

_I could see him. He was darting across the open field. I tried to yell for him to get down, but I could hardly hear my own voice. Then everything happened in slow motion. He was almost to a hill where he would be safe when the machine gun zeroed in on him_

"_No!" I screamed._

_As I did he turned and looked right at me, his dark eyes burning through me._

"_Why didn't you save me?" he asked as the round of machine gun fire shook his body, sending a red spray into the air around him._

"_I'm sorry. I tried," I said, tears streaming like a waterfall. "We all did." _

_He fell to the ground and yelled, "You didn't save me! I thought you loved me!! I died because of you!"_

"No!" I yelled sitting straight up. As I did I cracked my forehead against something concrete.

I hit it so hard I almost knocked myself out. I leaned back rubbing my head.

"Shit," I cursed quietly.

I felt hot blood running down my cheek.

"Damn," I growled. "This is perfect… what the hell did I it my head on?" I asked myself looking around.

I didn't remember this place. It was dark and damp and smelled like mold. Actually I didn't remember much. I remembered Miller dying and my decision to leave. I remembered sneaking away from my squad and walking all night, then nothing. I wracked my memories trying to recall something about how I came here, but I got nothing.

I went to work on finding out where I was. I reached up slowly to see what I had hit my forehead on. About a foot and a half above my face I felt cold concrete. Since I couldn't see anything down my by feet, I lifted my left leg and sure enough, there was the same concrete slab. I was in a concrete coffin. My heart jumped into my throat and tears sprang to my eyes. I inwardly cursed myself for crying and blinked the tears away angrily. Then a voice came through the darkness.

"Hello? Are you hurt?" It was a woman's voice and she was speaking French.

"Not bad," I answered. "Do you speak English?"

"She doesn't but I do," came another voice. "My name is Lea. The Germans brought you here yesterday. We were beginning to think you were dead."

"We?" I asked surprised.

"Yes," said Lea. "There are 12 of us now that you're here.

"Your all women?" I inquired.

"Yes. 3 of us are French, 4 of us are Italian and 4 of us are Americans."

"5 of us are Americans," I corrected.

From there they proceeded to introduce themselves even though I knew I had no hope of remembering any of their names at first.

"How did you all come to be in here?" I asked.

""We all snuck into the army, and when they find women who have done that, this is where they bring us."

"Hold the phone," I said still stuck on 'we all snuck into the army.' "All 11 of you?"

"What? Did you think you were the only women in the world who didn't want to be left at home while her brothers went to war?" asked one of the French girls.

"I guess not," I said disliking the tone she had. "How long have you been here?"

"We don't know," said the same French girl in that same greater-than-thou-art tone. "Its not like the Germans give us calendars…"

"Listen…" I began, but was interrupted by Lea.

"Don't be rude, Maria. We have all been through a lot."

The girl was quiet.

"We have all been here for awhile," continued Lea. "There isn't really a way to tell…"

"And you haven't been rescued yet?" I yelled surprised.

My volume seemed to scare all of them.

"I mean, your squad didn't come to get any of you?" I asked quieter.

All remained silent. I could almost feel the pain even before they spoke.

"Most of our squads have died," said an Italian girl quietly.

There was a soft echo of agreement that went through all the girls.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't know what I would do if my squad…" but I let my sentence trail off.

"Your squad is still alive?" asked Lea.

"Yes, most of them. Or at least they were when I left."

"You left them?!" asked Lea surprised.

"Yes. The mission we were assigned to was getting them killed, so I left during the night."

"Its not your place to decide if the mission is to risky," said that same French girl.

I suddenly felt a connection with her and her stubborn attitude. She reminded me a lot of Reiben.

"The mission was to save my brothers, so it was my problem not theirs," I said calmly.

I could tell the girl was embarrassed. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry. Did you find them?"

"Sort of," I said. "My oldest brother is dead and the other one is still M.I.A."

The girl started to say something else, but was abruptly cut off by a slam. A shaft of light suddenly streamed through what I had previously though was a solid wall. There was a small rectangular hole in the right side of my coffin. It was big enough to fit my hand and fore arm through, but that was it. I looked through it to see a very large room and a door at the far end, which was open. There, silhouetted in the sunlight was a man, '_one of the same men who brought be in here probably_,' I thought angrily.

The coffin across from me had the same hole as mine and there were a pair of eyes framed in the little box. They were grayish blue and for a second, I thought I was staring into the eyes of the sharpshooter in my squad until the girl spoke.

"Just keep quiet," she whispered then disappeared from view.

'_Like hell I'm going to stay quiet_,' I thought. "Hey!" I yelled in German.

The grayish eyes reappeared. They were terrified. "Shut up!" she hissed as the German turned.

I ignored her. "Yeah you two!" I shouted.

The two Germans came over and unlocked something on the top of my coffin, but before they opened it, they stuck what looked like a fork through the little hole. Luckily I was smart enough not to touch it, but it was hard to keep away from it in such a small space. In a few seconds, the end of one of the tongs found its way to my skin. The German on the other end of the tongs, dug it into my rib cage sending a jolt of electricity through my body. I screamed as my vision blurred. I felt hands on my arms then the men dragging me out of the tomb. Someone stuck those damn tongs in my side again and black started crowding my vision. I struggled to stay awake, but one more electrical jab to the gut and my world turned black.

**Meanwhile**

With a lot of luck, Reiben, Jackson, Mellish and Caparzo had been able to track Davis's footsteps to the nearest town. The town just happened to be the one the captain had died in only twenty four hours before

"Spread out," said Reiben. "If she isn't here we are moving out in an hour." Then he turned to Jackson. "Go see if the sniper is still in the tower."

Jackson nodded and took off, crouching low behind walls.

In a few seconds someone yelled, "I found something,' but the less than enthusiastic shout made Reiben worry. They all hurried to Mellish and stopped, open mouthed. The scene in front of them looked too much like the scene the day before when Caparzo had found John Davis. Mellish reached out and gently took one of the dog tags off the body. Everyone was quiet as Jackson returned to report that the German sniper was dead.

"What's wrong?" he asked noticing the silence.

"Our mission is defiantly over," said Mellish, tossing Jackson the dog tag.

"Oh no," said Jackson reading the name.

Reiben came to Mellish's side and said, "Rest in peace, William Davis."

They were quiet again, then Reiben said, "Lets go, fellas."

*********

I sat up and cracked my head for the second time on the concrete slab. Only this time my whole body was aching. The three places I had been jabbed with the electric fork hurt worst of all though.

"I told you to keep quiet," said the girl next to me. She was the one who liked arguing; the one who reminded me of Reiben.

I said nothing to her, not in the mood to argue. I lay still so as not to hurt my bruised body, or the rib I could tell was broken. _'Those Germans did a number on me_,' I though savagely. I couldn't even remember what it was exactly that they did; only that it was extremely painful. Then I let my mind drift away from the pain and back to my squad. I went over the individual members and Reiben popped into my head last. I wondered. If he had done the smart thing, they were only a few days from the beach, bur if his '_I'm tougher than any damn German_,' attitude was still intact, I didn't know where they were, and that frightened me. Now I was not a religious person, but right then I prayed, not for myself, or even for my M.I.A. brother. I prayed for Reiben.

"God if you're out there please guide Reiben in leading everyone. Let him choose the right path, and please keep them safe." I laughed out loud when I though, '_Jackson is rubbing off on me_.'

The next few days were like that one. The Germans would come in two, even three times a day and poke me with that godforsaken fork, then get me out and ask me questions, which I wouldn't answer. Then they would all play a game of lets torture the soldier and competed against one another to see who could make me scream the loudest.

This day, however they were being extremely rough. I didn't know why, but there was really nothing much I could do bout it so I closed my eyes and prayed for it to be over.

*********

"Reiben, we have been walking around like this for three days. We have no idea where to look first," said Caparzo wiping sweat from his brow.

"We are going to find her," was all Reiben had been saying for 2 days.

"Yeah I know we are, but we need some direction," Caparzo persisted.

Then Reiben rounded on him.

"I don't now how Caparzo! Incase you have forgotten, I am sort of new at this!"

Caparzo stood his ground as the Captain came and stood so that his nose was only centimeters away from Caparzo's.

"I know," said Caparzo calmly. "I just think that we should have a little-"

"Shut up, Caparzo," said Jackson. "We are all tired and Reiben is doing the best with what he has. That's all any of us can ask."

That quieted everyone down and they walked for a few more minutes before Reiben stopped and held up a fist signaling the rest of the squad to stop. He ducked down in the tall grass and motioned for two to go up the left, and two to go up the right. No one knew what exactly he had seen, but they followed his orders. Jackson and Mellish took the left, and he and Caparzo took the right. They slowly came up on a big, steel door with four guards at the entrance. The Americans easily killed all but one of the Germans and Mellish came up to the living one. He had learned enough German to ask the man if there was anyone inside and then to understand his answer.

"He says there are about 12 women inside," said Mellish.

"Tie him up," said Reiben.

The squad did, and then carefully made their way inside. The room was dark and wet. There was water dripping from everything, and there was an eerie echo whenever someone made a noise too loud. When the men's eyes adjusted to the darkness they could see the outline of concrete tombs lined up next to each other.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" asked Reiben gripping his B.A.R tighter.

There was a chorus of excited 'yes's in a few different languages. They all sounded like they were coming from the tombs.

"Davis? Are you in here?" asked Caparzo.

"Your looking for Crissy?" came someone's voice. Reiben found the tomb the girl was in and looked through the small opening.

"Yeah. Do you know where she is?"

"Right behind you," said the girl. "But we haven't heard her for 2 days. The Germans tortured her, then knocked her out, and she hasn't woken up yet."

Reiben turned around and looked through the opening in the tomb.

"Davis? Davis!? Can you hear me?" He glanced around and saw the lock on the lid of the coffin. "Someone go find the key!"

Mellish and Caparzo jumped up and went back outside to interrogate the German. They were back in a minute with a small silver key.

"He said it opens all of them," Mellish said handing the key to Reiben. He undid the lock and handed it back to Mellish.

"Get all of them out," said Reiben. Mellish nodded as Jackson helped Reiben pry the lid off of Davis's coffin.

When they did manage to lift the 100 lbs of solid concrete what they uncovered made them gag. Davis was lying crumpled up on the bed of the coffin, and she looked like she was dead. Reiben reached down with a shaky hand and felt her neck for a pulse. There was a horrible second where he couldn't find it, but then he felt it. It was beating faster than normal, but it was there, and that's all Reiben cared about.

He slid his arm under her limp legs and back and lifted her out of the concrete prison. It was a strange thing to have her in his arms. She felt so small and breakable; nothing like the girl he remembered. She was battered, and bruised. She had cuts everywhere. Some had started healing, and others were still oozing liquid. Reiben carried her outside and gently laid her down, just as her eye started to open.

*********

My mind was in a haze, and the bright light hurt my eyes. _'Where was I now?'_ I thought. '_In some kind of operating room? Are they going to perform tests on me?' _I struggled to move, and someone spoke to me.

"Davis?"

I knew that voice, I just couldn't place it.

"Davis are you alright?"

Why couldn't I remember whose voice that was? I tried in vane to clear my mind, but the fog wouldn't leave.

"Davis? It's Reiben. Are you ok?"

"Reiben?" I said. I could hear how pathetic my voice sounded, but I just couldn't remember.

I felt someone's hand over mine, and I knew I wasn't with the Germans anymore. They were never that nice. Then it all came flooding back to me, and I sat up. Jackson put a restraining hand on my shoulder and gently eased me back down.

"Don't move. You might hurt yourself," he said smiling softly.

I glared at them, my mind working fully now.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

They stared at me stunned.

"Why didn't you go back to the beach like I told you to?"

They continued to stare, and then they glanced at one another. Then suddenly they broke out into a fit of laughter. At first I was still mad, but I quickly got pulled into the contagious joy.

"Listen," said Reiben suddenly growing serious. "We found William."

The words hid me hard, but I had been expecting this.

"He's gone Davis," said Jackson.  
I sighed and nodded.

"I figured as much," I said.

I glanced around at them and said, "guys, lets go home."

Reiben, Jackson, Mellish and Caparzo smiled. Reiben nodded and said," its about time."

He patting my shoulder. "We missed you, Davis."

*********

It took us almost a week to get back to the beach, but when we got there it was exactly the same. Except they had taken the bodies off of the beach and the ocean had had time to return to its normal color. We told everyone that both my brothers were K.I.A along with Captain Miller, Timothy Upham, and Medic Irwin Wade. Reiben was then officially made Captain, which inflated his ego to 4 times its normal size, and he never let us forget it.

We went on a few more missions after that, but our last one ended in Caparzo and Mellish being fatally wounded, Jackson, Reiben and I getting purple hearts, and us being honorably discharged. None of us knew why we got purple hearts though. The military quoted George Washington when he gave the first purple heart in 1917 and said, "Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the Purple Heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen."

Reiben, Jackson and I all agreed that we had just been doing our jobs, trying to stay alive and struggling to stay sain. We didn't deserve a purple heart. If anyone did, it was Wade, or the Captain, Or Mellish, or Caparzo, or Upham. They had all given their_ lives_, not just their blood for their country and their squad, and we never forgot that.

Even 50 years later when the memories of our familys, friends and even the war were gone, we never forgot our fallen comrads on the mission we had nicknamed 'Finding Davis.' Wade, Miller, Caparzo, Mellish and even Upham's names were etched on our hearts forever and on the dog tags we always wore around our necks.

**Thanks for reading! **_**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**_


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